Senior gives service to school, mission trips

As a triplet, James Peterson was born to be a team player.

The Oaks Christian High School senior started life teamed up with his siblings Paul and Molly. At their Westlake Village school, he has helped to coordinate teams to build homes for the disadvantaged population in Mexico, as well as serving as a leader in his freshman, junior and senior classes. In his sophomore year he joined Cereal club, a group that donates funds to charity.

"I like teamwork. It's fun spending time together and working in a group," said Peterson, 19, who makes the drive to Oaks Christian from his Pacific Palisades home with his siblings and other classmates. "I felt like I was supplying a need."

Peterson has held several offices at school, including freshman class vice president, junior class president and senior class assembly leader, helping to run the twiceweekly student council meetings. On the council, made up of presidents and vice presidents from each grade, Peterson helped organize pep rallies, homecoming, dances, prom, a winter formal and other special events. He is one of three students who spoke at graduation June 5.

Peterson traveled to Mexico seven times in the past year to help build prefabricated homes for impoverished people through an organization called Hands of Mercy.

Last summer Peterson also traveled to Belize with his church to paint and clean homes.

"You see families living in trash bags, on pallets of scrap wood kind of nailed together, whatever they can do to put a roof up, but when it rains it's muddy for days. The winds are cold in winter. There's no protection from that," Peterson said.

He had such a positive experience during the visits south that he decided to coordinate two trips this past winter for Oaks Christian students to help with the digging, hammering and painting. Thirtyseven students participated.

"I thought it was something that would benefit everyone," Peterson said. "The people there (in Mexico) are awesome."

He plans to return to Mexico this summer.

"It only takes a day to build a house because of the prefabricated work we do," Peterson said. "I'm so happy I can use the gifts I have."

Peterson began the visits south shortly after his father died in March 2007 due to pancreatic cancer.

He credited the Oaks Christian administration with supporting new ideas like the building trips to Mexico and hopes they will continue.

"I'm going to miss Oaks. I love Oaks," Peterson said.

He will carry on a family tradition in the fall by attending the University of Southern California, where he plans to study business administration. Peterson's mother, grandparents and older sister attended USC.

His sister Molly will join him there. His brother Paul will attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas, which another older sister attended. She still lives in Dallas.

Molly Peterson described her brother as being selfless, humble and a passionate leader who is handy and builds things around the house, like desks, drawers and "random things for Mother's Day."

"Even just at home he helps with any small problem I have," Molly Peterson said.